Stomach & Hips - How to dress for them

carolinei

Hi all,

I am 5 7", am a size 12 / 14 and honestly do not know what suits me. I have had 2 children so I have the slight overhang (Sorry if that sounds awful), and always had 'Child bearing hips', as my mother would say.

Now, my SIL is the same size as me and always looks faboulous and I am really jealous. Not is a bad way, just a wistful, envious way.

I live in Oasis Jeans and V neck jumpers and in work, black trousers and fitted shirts. Don't get me wrong, I try to look good in my appearance, but want to look better.

What clothes would suit my shape, I would say I am hour glass, and want to be more feminine, maybe wear dresses, etc.

Any photos of what I could wear or links etc. I'm 8 years with my husband and want him to start doing a double take when he looks at me.;)

Rgds

Caroline

Pigletlover

I'm slightly pear shaped and I find wrap around dresses or dresses that are fitted on top look best on me and they look good with shoes or boots.

How about skirts and tops? If you're trying to disguise your hips you could dress up plain skirts with dressy tops/shirts/jumpers, taking the focus off your bottom half. A lot of the puff sleeve blouses that are around help to balance your shape.

sonners

I'm a pear shape too and agree with what pigletlover has said. Keep the frills and fancy bits on the top and darker/plain colours at the bottom. Top with puffy sleeves, of the shoulder straps, anything which widens your silhouette will helps balance things out. If your wearing jeans go for ones with a flare at the bottom to balance out the hips. The same with skirts, I find ones with a flick at the end (as opposed to ones which taper in towards the end) are alot more flattering.

You'll find lots of tips and tricks online, a simple google of 'how to dress for pear shapes' shows a number of instructional do's and dont's. You dont have to follow the rules all the time, play with it a bit, but they should provide you with the basics of dressing a pear

EDIT: Just to add, Kristin Davis, Davina McCall, Shakira, Beyonce, America Ferrera and Jennifer Lopez are all pear shaped. Have a look at a few of their photos to see how they handle it. I know none of us have their wardrobe (I can only dream!) but pay attention to their use of colours, patterns and styles and you can apply this to your own wardrobe then.

carolinei

Hi,

I would be more hour glass than pear - my shoulders balance out my hips.

All hints though are GREATFULLY appreciated

Rgds

Caroline

sonners

Sorry carolinei, I misread the opening post (brain is in default mode today!). I cant help too much with dressing an hour glass figure, I only wish I had the shoulders/chest to balance out my hips .

But I would still suggest googling 'how to dress an hour glass figure' to pick up some basic tips. With any body shape there are four or five basic do's and dont's once you get the hang of these and vet your wardrobe accordingly, you'll find it alot easier to match things up and more importantly will know what NOT to wear. Like wise, google 'hour glass celebrities' to pick up a few names, I'm not saying you should go celeb crazy or dress like them but its easier to find pictures of celebs. Use them as your guinea pig, watch what they are wearing, what looks good on them and what does'nt.

Hope this helps

carolinei

Hi Sonners,

Thanks for that, I have googled 'hourglass celebraties' and yup, definatley hour glass.

Gosh, I will just have to spend a few hours seeing what I can wear :rolleyes:

Rgds

Caroline

sonners

I know it seems like a mine field when you start off but for every shape there are a few staple accesories to add to your wardrobe which will go with everything and help compliment your figure. And like wise there will be things that you just should'nt wear!

When I started shopping for my shape I literally had a list of 5 do's and 5 donts scribbled down that I consulted on every purchase. After a while it becomes second nature and you'll know as soon as you glance at something wether it will suit you or not.

There are alot of people who you might think 'can wear anything' when in reality they cant, they just know what NOT to wear, and know how to choose something to compliment what they have. Pick what you like about your body and highlight it with patterns, colours, and styles to show it off. Then choose darker shades and cleaner cuts for the bits you dont want to draw as much attention to.

By the way, I'm no expert, I started off slow and built on it, I still make mistakes, everyone does. Its all part of the fun

moonflower

High-waisted trousers and skirts, which are tight on the hips, but come up far enough that you get no overhang/muffin top are good. They pull in your hips.
Avoid wrap dresses like the plague if you have big hips, and anything that clings to the hips but not the waist.
Belts, either thick waist-cinchers, or thin ones that are up a bit higher look good, especially with high-waisted skirts with the top tucked in.
Avoid jeans/skirts that come halfway up the hips, they'll just look weird unless you've got a baggy top on.
I think I've got the same kinda figure as you, so I hope this helps!

carolinei

Hi,

Just found out we have a wedding new years eve and was looking at one of these ! Can you let me know what you think.

Rgds

Caroline

Font22

defo dress b!! its gorgeous. by any chance is it from karen millen? if so i have it in pink, bought it two weeks ago for a charity ball i was going to and for some weddings i have to go to in the next while. its so flattering on. i would have an hourglass figure too and it clung to all the right curves etc!!!

carolinei

Hi Font22,

Yes, it's a Karen Millen. Did you try on the black one. I didn't see the pink. Why did you choose the pink over the black. What accessories and shoes did you get with the pink - I am so bad at this its not funny.


The other dress is a coast - There's no restrictions on wearing Coast at the wedding


Rgds

Caroline

Clare Bear

Empire line dresses would suit your figure (in just below the bra line and flow out) and those types of dresses are everywhere so you'll have no bother finding them.

Font22

no i didnt bother trying on the black one, i have so many black dresses i felt it was time for a change! i got so many compliments with that dress, defo get it! as for shoes, i managed to get a pink pair in the same colour in carl scarpa in the sale. sounds like i was dressed like a barbie doll but its a gorgeous dress!!!!

Pigletlover

Definitely dress b, it's gorgeous and if you have an hourglass figure it will suit you perfectly.

carolinei

Hi all,

I went with dress A - the pink from coast. Thanks for all your help.

Rgds

C.

miss no stars

If you are hourglass as you say then you can carry off fitted dresses like dress B. The pink should look lovely too though.

I'm an hourglass myself and spent ages trying to figure out how to dress it, as most magazines seem to cater for straight up straight down or pear shaped. Very feminine shapes will suit you well. The trick is to make the most of your hips, which might seem bizarre.

Things like a delicate cardi with a pencil skirt will suit you, as it shows off the fact that your broad shoulders balance broad hips and you've a tiny waist.

When you're wearing jeans, try wearing a top that comes down just past your bum and put a belt right at the narrowest part of your waist and a chunky necklace.

Try to avoid box type cuts as they'll only make you look fat. Tight fitting clothes are your friend but beware. Never buy if it's a tiny bit on the small side as any overspill with an hourglass figure just looks terrible. Little shrugs can be great too, especially in an accent colour as they emphasise the balance of your figure.

Trinny and Susannah do a fairly good low down on how to dress for your shape (see littlewoods catalogue if you don't have one of their books)

SarahJ

Has anyone tried those Spanx knickers? I've tried Dunnes own brand, but they are rubbish! Because Spanx are pretty pricey, I would think they are good?

carolinei

Hi Sarahj,

I have the spanx knickers and they are great. They really do smooth the lumps and bumps that need to be smoothed.

Rgds

Caroline